So I had about $100 in Southwest flight credits set to expire on August 18. Given that I had already been traveling quite I bit, I was just about ready to let that shit expire. But then, you know me: if there is a deal to be had, I do NOT relinquish my Bubbey Bucks easily. Thankfully, I came to my senses just in time to make a quickie trip happen. Yup, Bubbey was back East but I sent Marty off to the sitter, and my gal M joined for a last minute trip to southern California. Yup, SW had been running some great sales, so why not? We flew into Ontario and hit up the Omni Resort in Palm Desert, just east of Palm Springs. I mean, there’s a reason why tickets to the desert are cheap right now: temps were 115F, reaching over 90 by 6am. I pride myself in being quite the salamander, but holy mother of God, that desert heat was no fucking joke.

We were refilling our water bottles nonstop and we STILL couldn’t stay hydrated. We def had our bouts of mild headaches. That said, it was great having two days of R&R by the resort pool. M researched the hotel, and it was a solid find (although she was still disappointed). We played our little cheapie games and scored a room upgrade to lake view. The grounds were immense, complete with their own golf course plus like 3 different pools including a water park called Splashtopia. To our initial dismay, the place was kinda mobbed… something about it being the last weekend before school started up again. Damn kids, right?

Still, that wasn’t gonna stop us. We hit up the water park in the afternoon. I mean, the lazy river was kinda warm bc of all the bodies in the water, but we tubed for a bit, then climbed up for the slides. I’m telling you: I come from a family of people who don’t know how to have fun. I was never a big fan of amusement parks, add to that my recent fear of heights… as we went up the stairs to the top of the slides, I watched the kids fly down the slide. Shit, that thing is windy and fast! I mean, didn’t a kid just get decapitated on a slide? I started getting really stressed standing in line. And then right before her turn, M turned to me and said, “Well, if something happens, it was great knowing you. Have a nice life!” Oh shit lady, you did NOT just say goodbye as I’m internally freaking the fuck out.

I suppose one of my good qualities though is that even when I’m scared or uncomfortable or uneasy, I try really hard not to let those negative energies paralyze me. I’m up? Ok, it’s go time. So I flew down that damn slide on my back (how are people able to sit upright the whole way down??), zipping through the twists and turns and then at the end, I got dumped into the pool. I mean, I’ve never been a strong swimmer or a person comfortable in deep water. So I did NOT have the wherewithal to hold my breath. In other words, I ate it big time and got a shit ton of water up my nose and down my throat. Whew. Glad that’s over!

Of course, just my luck, M LOVED it and immediately started clamoring to go on the other slide. Fuck, really? Ok. Same drill. Meanwhile, I’m watching all the little kids and they are having the time of their lives. No fear.

Well, like they say, “Fake it til you make it.” Again, like a dumb ass, I gulped down a ton of water at the exit. In retrospect, there were seconds of the experience that were kinda thrilling, and I’m glad I did it. But shit, I was so ready to return to the adult-only pool!

Later that day, we hit up the supermarket and picked up some snacks and munchies to chill out on the patio. The sliced cheese melted pretty damn fast and sweat got into my eyes, causing them to burn. Jesus, I got too many problems!

All in all, it was a short getaway, but we still did a lot. Esp if you consider how our bodies were just trying to survive in the deadly heat. I can’t believe that John and I used to have Palm Springs on our list of possible places to live. No more. Bc shit: I cannot live in a place where, should my car break down or my power goes out, I could DIE in a matter of minutes or hours. That level of hot is crazy dangerous.

That said, for vacay? Hellz yeah. It’s a decent destination for an escape, maybe just not during summer. We enjoyed several tasty meals, browsed around in a few shops (plus the outlets), and most importantly, clocked in some serious pool time… all while chatting away nonstop. Oh and if you can imagine: M even prepped for a job interview and then did the interview over Skype! Without skipping a beat. Hehe. Good times, for sure.[FAG id=7470]